This book addresses the various aspects of computational support systems for learners nowadays. It highlights in particular those learning aspects that rely heavily upon one's imagination of knowledge and new ideas. The question is how learners may become more effective through the use of highly graphical computer systems that now conquer almost every desk. As an extrapolation of the constructionistic paradigm, learning is seen here as a process of conceptual design. Witnessing the prudent introduction of CADD software (Computer Aided Drafting and Design) it is obvious that users are generally scrupulous to accept the computer in the ideational stages of design. This book presents both existing conceptual techniques and those estimated to arrive in the few coming years.

There are many reasons to be curious about the way people learn, and the past several decades have seen an explosion of research that has important implications for individual learning, schooling, workforce training, and policy. In 2000, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition was published and its influence has been wide and deep. The report summarized insights on the nature of learning in school-aged children; described principles for the design of effective learning environments; and provided examples of how that could be implemented in the classroom. Since then, researchers have continued to investigate the nature of learning and have generated new findings related to the neurological processes involved in learning, individual and cultural variability related to learning, and educational technologies. In addition to expanding scientific understanding of the mechanisms of learning and how the brain adapts throughout the lifespan, there have been important discoveries about influences on learning, particularly sociocultural factors and the structure of learning environments. How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures provides a much-needed update incorporating insights gained from this research over the past decade. The book expands on the foundation laid out in the 2000 report and takes an in-depth look at the constellation of influences that affect individual learning. How People Learn II will become an indispensable resource to understand learning throughout the lifespan for educators of students and adults.

Hypermedia technology needs a creative approach from the outset in the design of software to facilitate human thinking and learning. This book opens a discussion of the potential of hypermedia and related approaches to provide open exploratory learning environments. The papers in the book are based on contributions to a NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in July1990 and are grouped into six sections: - Semantic networking as cognitive tools, - Expert systems as cognitive tools, - Hypertext as cognitive tools, - Collaborative communication tools, - Microworlds: context-dependent cognitive tools, - Implementing cognitive tools. The book will be valuable for those who design, implement and evaluate learning programs and who seek to escape from rigid tactics like programmed instruction and behavioristic approaches. The book presents principles for exploratory systems that go beyond existing metaphors of instruction and provokes the reader to think in a new way about the cognitive level of human-computer interaction.

The author presents 50 teacher-tested instructional strategies for nurturing students' cognitive abilities across the full range of thinking levels and building a culture of thinking that emphasizes essential 21st century skills- from critical thinking and problem solving to teamwork and creativity.

An accessible introduction to some of the cognitive issues important for thinking and learning in scientific or other complex domains (such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, or expository writing), with practical educational applications and implementation methods. Many students find it difficult to learn the kind of knowledge and thinking required by college or high school courses in mathematics, science, or other complex domains. Thus they often emerge with significant misconceptions, fragmented knowledge, and inadequate problem-solving skills. Most instructors or textbook authors approach their teaching efforts with a good knowledge of their field of expertise but little awareness of the underlying thought processes and kinds of knowledge required for learning in scientific domains. In this book, Frederick Reif presents an accessible coherent introduction to some of the cognitive issues important for thinking and learning in scientific or other complex domains (such as mathematics, science, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, or expository writing). Reif, whose experience teaching physics at the University of California led him to explore the relevance of cognitive science to education, examines with some care the kinds of knowledge and thought processes needed for good performance; discusses the difficulties faced by students trying to deal with unfamiliar scientific domains; describes some explicit teaching methods that can help students learn the requisite knowledge and thinking skills; and indicates how such methods can be implemented by instructors or textbook authors. Writing from a practically applied rather than predominantly theoretical perspective, Reif shows how findings from recent research in cognitive science can be applied to education. He discusses cognitive issues related to the kind of knowledge and thinking skills that are needed for science or mathematics courses in high school or colleges and that are essential prerequisites for more advanced intellectual performance. In particular, he argues that a better understanding of the underlying cognitive mechanisms should help to achieve a more scientific approach to science education.

This book provides cutting-edge, evidence-based strategies and interventions that target students’ engagement at school and with learning. Coverage begins with the background and 29-year history of the Check & Connect Model and describes the model and assessment of student engagement that served as the backdrop for conceptualizing the engagement interventions described in the book. Subsequent chapters are organized around the subtypes of student engagement – academic, behavioral, affective, cognitive – that were developed based on work with the Check & Connect Model. Principles and formal interventions are presented at both the universal and more intensive levels, consistent with the Response-to-Intervention/Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework. The book concludes with a summary on the lessons learned from Check & Connect and the importance of a system that is oriented toward enhancing engagement and school completion for all students. Interventions featured in this book include: Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS). The Homework, Organization, and Planning Skills (HOPS) Intervention. The Good Behavior Game in the classroom. Check-in, Check-out (CICO). Banking Time, a dyadic intervention to improve teacher-student relationships The Self-Regulation Empowerment Program (SREP). Student Engagement is a must-have resource for researchers, professionals, and graduate students in child and school psychology, educational policy and politics, and family studies.

First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.